Hold Back the Stars is a science fiction about romance and the challenges of living in space. The central characters are Carys and Max, lovers in their early twenties. The story opens when the spaceship of Carys and Max only has 90 minutes left, implying that they might die at any time because their device cannot be repaired. The flashback in the story gives the background of Carys and Max’s life on earth before they found themselves in space.
When the nuclear war destroys the USA and the Middle East, Carys and Max start to live in space (Utopian Europe). The rules in the Utopian world require people to be rotated from one country to the other after every three years, requiring them to speak multiple languages and transform into different individuals. After having a difficult life, Carys and Max meet in their early twenties in space and fall in love. Initially, Carys was among the top supporters of the couple’s rule in the Utopian world. The law states that people can only live as a couple and start having children after attaining the age of thirty-five. Therefore, Carys and Max can only have children once they reach the age of thirty-five. Consequently, there is a major conflict between Carys and the couple’s rule because he questions the grounds under which it is formed.
The declining oxygen supply in Carys and Max’s equipment adds more suspense to readers in the better part of the narrative in the last sections of the book. However, the major concern in the last sections revolves around society’s complaints regarding the couple’s rule. Towards the novel's end, the readers are left in suspense because it is unclear whether Carys and Max survive.
